Blocked Driveways and Private-Lot Tows in Portland: Who Can Tow, What It Costs, and How to Get the Car Back

September 1, 2026

A car across your driveway and a car missing from a private lot are the same problem seen from two sides. Portland's tow-operator ordinance and Maine statute decide who can call the truck, what the bill can be, and what the yard is allowed to keep.

Two tows, two rulebooks

A car towed off a Portland street and a car towed out of a private lot look identical and answer to different rules. On a public way, removal happens at the direction of law enforcement: Maine's 29-A M.R.S. §2069 lets an officer have a vehicle removed when it is parked in violation, blocking snow removal or traffic, or sitting in a right-of-way, with the cost charged to the registered owner. You cannot hire a truck to clear a public street yourself.

On private property the owner or manager makes the call, the truck belongs to an operator licensed by the City under Chapter 28, Article IV of the City Code, and the state's abandoned-vehicle subchapter, 29-A M.R.S. §§1851 to 1863, sets what the yard can hold and for how long.

Someone is parked across your driveway

City parking regulations require five feet of clearance on both sides of a driveway, and Sec. 28-53(b) of the Code prohibits stopping in front of or within five feet of where the driveway meets the pavement. The ticket schedule lists it as Code 9, a $40 fine, marked on complaint, which means it is enforced when you call.

Report it to the Parking Division at 207-874-8498 or 207-874-8443 between 7:30 am and 6:30 pm, or to the Police Department's non-emergency line, 207-874-8575, after hours. Have these ready:

• The address and which side of the driveway is blocked.
• Plate number, make and color.
• Whether you are blocked in or out, and for how long.
• Whether the car is on the street or inside your driveway, which changes who may tow it.

A car left on your own property

Once a vehicle is on private property without permission, state law handles it under the abandoned-vehicle subchapter. Section 1851 covers a vehicle left on property without the owner's permission, one towed for that reason, and one left on an individual's residential property for more than six months.

There is paperwork. Under §1854 the premises owner or the owner's agent, in practice the tow company, must notify the Secretary of State, which writes to the registered owner and any lienholder. If nobody retrieves the car and pays within 14 days of those notices, §1852 declares it abandoned and §1853 lets the premises owner apply for title. Skip the notification and §1857 limits the yard to 14 days of storage fees.

Business lots carry one more rule. Sec. 28-123(m) bars a licensed wrecker from charging the driver anything unless signs warning that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense are posted at each entrance and exit of a nonresidential property, or visible from every entrance, and say how a missing vehicle can be located. No signs, no bill to the driver, so expect the operator to ask.

Your car is gone from a lot: finding it and the bill

Rule out the City first. Its FAQ says that for vehicles towed from privately owned parking lots, after an arrest or accident, or after hours, the number is the Police Department at 207-874-8575, and dispatch can say whether the car was towed and by whom. A Portland-licensed wrecker must keep its release lot in the city or within seven miles of City Hall (Sec. 28-123(a)).

The City's fee schedule applies to every nonconsensual tow, and Sec. 28-122(a) expressly covers private lot tows requested by a lot owner or manager. A standard non-accident tow is $150. Storage is a maximum of $50 per day and does not start until 24 hours after the tow. A release between 7 pm and 7 am, or on a Sunday or City holiday, can carry a $40 fee. Rates must be posted at the release facility, and the yard must release the car within one hour of your request. City impounds are priced separately; see the Portland impound fees guide.

If you arrive while the truck is still there, Sec. 28-122(b) applies: once the car is hooked but before the wrecker has started to leave, you can take it back for $40 in cash paid to the driver. That is the best deal in the ordinance.

What the yard can hold, and what it must hand over

Maine's §1861 lets the yard hold the vehicle and all its accessories, contents and equipment until reasonable towing and storage charges are paid, but not the personal effects of the registered owner. The statute names medications, medical equipment, clothing, mail, child restraint systems and similar items. Anything attached to the car, plus business equipment, machinery and tools, stays until you pay. A car seat comes out on request; a tool chest does not.

Do not solve it yourself. Under §1859, removing the vehicle, or any part of it, from the premises without the written consent of the person in charge is a traffic infraction, and that applies to the vehicle's owner too. Storage is capped by §1857 at $1,500 in any 30-day period.

When the right move is your own tow truck

Most of these situations have a cheaper version if you act first. A car that died across a neighbor's driveway is a $40 ticket and a $150 tow if the neighbor calls, or a jump-start and a short hop home if you do. When you request a tow truck in Portland, say the car is on private property and whether it rolls and steers, because that decides whether a standard truck or a flatbed is sent.

Property owners and managers can arrange a removal through the same call. A licensed operator will want to know that you control the property and, for a business lot, will ask about the signs.

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